Mining face conveyor



April 12, 1966 F. H. CREUELS, ETAL I 3,245Q722 MINING FACE CONVEYOR 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 4, 1962 FIG. I

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h amkoz mwm wuk M/Mm F z 1 g 5 April 12, 1966 F. H CREUELS ETAL.3,245,722

MINING FACE CONVEYOR Filed Sept. 4, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 M0! F'x ansfl-Cneue/s \Ta/ranves M. Hermes Izaak S Van Dawns/en /Zy M @MZXX 5WApril 1966 F. H. CREUELS ETAL 3,245,722

MINING FACE CONVEYOR Filed Sept. 4., 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l1 FlG.5

9 i' LL/2 o wk . 3 r I MA MA m y W10 5 W Frans h. Crave/s Johann s M.Hermes Izaak 5. van Dowmelen United States I Patent 3,245,722 MININGFACE CONVEYOR Frans H. Crenels, Hoensbroek, Johannes M. Hermes, Heerlen,and Izaak S. van Dommelen, Hoensbroek, Netherlands, assignors toStamicarhon N.V., Heerlen, Netherlands ,Filed Sept. 4, 1962, Ser. No.221,271 Claims priority, application Netherlands, Feb. 26, 1962,275,042; Feb. 27, 1962, 275,342 8 Claims. (Cl. 29934) The manner inwhich this type of ap-' clined guide walls which are attached to theconveyor 3 sections and slope from the top of the face side of theconveyor downwardly towards the floor. The design of the apparatus withguide walls inclined in this general manner affords the advantage thatthe guide walls assist the loading action of the plough as it lifts coalinto the conveyor.

In the normal way the plough of such apparatus is designed withcut-limiting stop faces which ride in contact with the coal face so asto limit the depth to which the plough cuts into the face when it isadvanced therealong, while the conveyor sections are thrust towards theface by pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders acting on the conveyor sideremote from the coal face. In order that the plough can pass thesuccessive conveyor sections the plough has to push these sections backagainst the forces exerted by the cylinders.

It is observed that the use of this known apparatus involves haulageforces on the plough which are disproportionately great in comparisonwith the effective cutting resistance experienced by the coal plough.This is in part due to the frictional contact of the cut-limiting faceswith the coal face, and the forces required for displacing the conveyorsections against the action of the cylinders.

We have been able to reduce the haulage forces required by a design ofapparatus in which cutting depth is limited 3,245,722 Patented Apr. 12,1966 ICC from the face or only to a small extent, as the plough 'ing tothe invention not only reduces the frictional forces already referred tobut reduces the forces required for clearing loosened coal from in frontof the plough. This is apparently due to the fact that the cut-limitingstrips enable the coal loosened from the face near the floor to bedisplaced inwardly over the strips. In the absence of the strips, thefoot of the sloping guide wall hinders displacement of this lower coal,and as a result of this and of the fact that movement of this coal upthe coal plough is impeded by the overlying coal, a large amount of coalhas to be pushed ahead of the coal plough during its movement. The factthat coal pushed forwards in front of the coal plough is moved along ametal strip and not along the floor of the seam helps to reduce theclearing forces to a comparatively low value.

too great otherwise they will hinder the movement of the by fixed meansattached to the conveyor and not by the I coal plough itself.

According to the present invention, there is provided a continuous-flowarticulated face conveyor having plough guide walls which are secured toor form part of one side of the conveyor sections and which are slopeddownwardly away from the coal-receiving part of such sections, andhaving cut-limiting strips which extend laterally from the bottom ofsaid guide walls, the upper surfaces of said strips being horizontal orsubstantially so, or sloping downwardly towards their outer edges at asubstantially smaller angle to the horizontal than said guide walls. Thesaid cut-limiting strips can be integral with said guide walls.

If a conveyor according to the invention is used with an appropriatecoal plough, the coal can be advanced While the conveyor sections areheld with the outer edges of their cut-limiting strips in contact withthe coal face, and this abutment of the strips with the coal face limitsthe depth of cut of the plough. The strips preserve over the wholelength of the conveyor, a passage between the plough-guiding wall of theconveyor and the face. The distance over which the cut-limiting stripsproject laterally may be such in relation to the dimensions of theplough that the conveyor sections are not laterally displaced away lowercoal. Preferably the upper surfaces of the strips, if inclined, shouldmake an angle of less than 20 with the horizontal.

It is found that the angle of inclination of the plough guide walls tothe vertical is important. A very large angle of inclination withrespect to the vertical involves the need for an unfavorably wideprop-free space while a steep inclination reduces the freedom ofmovement of coal up the plough between the guide walls and the face.Preferably the angle of the guide walls with respect to the vertical isbetween 40 and 50.

The invention includes a continuous-flow conveyor as above defined inconjunction with a coal plough or coal p'loughs.

A coal plough for use in conjunction with a conveyor according to theinvention may be of the type comprising a body portion and a tool holderwhich has cutting tools at each end for cutting coal from the floor andface of a v seam and is rockably mounted to the body portion so that inuse the tools which trail the movement of the plough are not pressedhard against the floor or face. Such a plough-conveyor combination maybe designed so that the plough body serves to raise coal from thecut-limiting strips while the tool holder part of the plough serves toraise coal from the seam floor.

The outer edges of the cut-limiting strips may lie at a lower level thanthe nearer side wall of the continuousflow conveyor so that this wall isheld off the floor and the conveyor is supported only at the remote sideand at the outer edges of the said strips. This has the advantage .thatthe outer edges of the strips are pressed against the floor of the seamby a large proportion of the weight of the conveyor and of any coalloaded onto it, and this pressure serves to prevent the face side of theconveyor from being lifted by coal grit on the seam floor as theconveyor sections are advanced. In consequence the plough is preventedfrom climbing. The outer edges .of the strips are preferably formed tocut through any coal attachedto the seam floor. The strips ma e.g., beformed by inclined plate portions as aforesaid so that the outer edgesof these plate portions scrape the floor as the conveyor sections areadvanced, or the strips may be formed by horizontal plates or plateportions having cutting pieces attached to the bottom thereof.

The outer edges of the cut-limiting strips, instead of being straight,may be formed with spaced teeth-orother form of local projections,directed towards the coal face, which can easily penetrate any barrierof coal dust or coal grit which might otherwise prevent contact of someof the strips with the coal face. If coal dust becomes compressedbetween the cut-limiting strip of any conveyor section and the face theplough will be prevented from cutting to the required depth at thissectionof the face. Byproviding suitable local projections on thecutlimiting strips as aforesaid, contact 'of'the strips with the facecan be insured withoutnunduly increasing the lateral forces on theconveyor. The outer endsof the projections are preferably convexlycurved in the horizontal plane.

While reference has been made to a single plough, apparatus according tothe invention may incorporate two or more ploughs, e.g., two or moreploughs connected to a single haulage tackle.

The invention will be further described with reference to theaccompanying diagrammaticdrawings which illustrate embodiments of theinvention by way of example.

In these drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a coal plough in position on the guidewall of a conveyor section;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse cross-section of a face conveyor having aplough in position thereon;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the plough and part of the conveyor shown inFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a detail view showing a modification to the apparatusaccording to FIGURE 2;

FIGURE '5 is a part cross-sectional elevation of a further apparatusaccording to the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a detail view showing a modification of the apparatusaccording to FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of apparatus according to FIGURE 6.

In the different figures, corresponding parts are denoted :by the samereference numeral.

Referring firstly to FIGURE 1, only the guide wall and cut-limitingstrip of one conveyor section are shown, but the figure clearly showsthe form of the tool holder and body portion of the plough'and thepositions of these parts in relation to the cut-limiting strip and theseam floor. The plough body 1 rockably supports the tool holder 2. Thetool holder is shown in the position appropriate for cutting duringhaulageof the plough cable 3 in the direction of the arrow; in thisposition of the tool holder the cutting edges 4 lie in the verticalplane at which the face cut is to be made and the bottom cutting edge 5attacks the seam floor. The tool holder is rockably mounted on a pivotbolt (not shown) projecting from the plough body. The pivot axis is theline A whichas will be seen is inclined tothe horizontal and thecontacting bearing faces of the plough body and tool holderare normal tothis line, being sloped from bottom to top away from the vertical planecontaining the cutting edges 4. In consequence, when the plough is inuse for cutting in the direction of the arrow, the cutting edges 4' atthe trailing end of the'toolholder lie in a vertical plane which isspaced from the newly exposed face. When cable 3 is hauled in thereverse direction the tool holder 2 is rocked about its pivot axis sothat cutting edges 4 and 5 move respectively away from the face and offthe floor and the cutting edges at the other end of the plough move intocutting position.

The plough body has an inclined rear wall 6 which is bent over at thetop into a hook portion 7 which engages over a guide rail 8 at the topof an inclined guide wall 9 of the conveyor section. A horizontalcut-limiting strip 10 is connectedto andextends from the bottomof the.prises an endlesschain 3, 3'.

guide wall 5 At each end the plough body is formed with a ramp face 11which slopes upwardly from the bottom of the plough body. The width ofthis ramp face at the bottom thereof is substantially the same as thewidth of the strip 10 and it will be seen that in the ploughconveyorassembly the bottom of ramp face 11 lies on or immediately above thestrip-10 so that loose coal lying on strip 10 ahead of the plough willbe caused to ride up the face '11. The tool holder is for-med at eachend with a ramp face 12 which slopes upwardly from the floor so as toexert a lifting force on coal encountered by this face.

A socket or sleeve 13 is secured behind the guide wall 9 at one endthereof, :near floor .level. In a corresponding position at the otherend of the wall 9 there isa projecting spigot (not visible inthe,='figure). When conveyor sections having guide rail Walls of thisform are assembled the spigot of' one section engages in the socketofthe next so as to assist in holding the'successive guide walls 9 inend-for-end registration. The spigots must leave ample clearance inthesockets to permit the conveyor sections to articulate. An alternativeor additional way of'connecting the successive guide walls is to providethe guide rail 8 ofeach conveyor section with a spigot and a socket atits opposite ends so that the adjacent guide rails can interengage.

FIGURE 2 shows an apparatus according to the invention inpart transversecross-section. It will be seen that the conveyor 14 is of thecontinuous-flow type providing upper and lower compartments in whichtravel respectively the upper and lower reaches of an endlessconvey-:ing means in the form of spaced scrapers 15 attached to The stop 19serves by abutment against theends of the said groove to limit therocking motion of the tool holder. The plough shown in FIGURE 2 isprovided with a deeper-cutting top portion 20 which notchesthe coalface.

The haulage tackleof the FIGURE 2 apparatus corn- The ploughiisconnecting into the reach. 3 of the chain and the'return parallel (idle)reach is guidedalong the top of the hook portion 7 of the plough body.The chain extends around chain wheels at the opposite ends of theface inthe usual way.

It will'be observed that the plough body does not project laterallybeyond-the outer ends of the strips 10 so that the conveyor sections donot have to be pushed back by'the .pa ssingplough. As appears fromFIGURE3 the conveyor is held during ploughing with the strips 10 in abutmentwith the coal face F and this abutment limits the depth of the cut.Theplough moves-along the trapeziform channel bounded by the guide wall9, the strips 10, and the coal face exposed by the preceding stroke ofthe plough. The loosened coal falls into this channel and due to itsinertia becomes pushed up along the ramp faces of the plough and intothe conveyor as the plough advances.

Due to the fact that no pressure is exerted on the coal in thecomparatively wide channel, the clearing force required. is small. Inthe particular case illustrated the effective width of the strips '10(i.e., the width of the strips projecting laterally from the bottom ofguide walls 9) is more than three quarters of, and in fact is almost thesame as, the depthof the cut so that there is very ample room forsideways displacement of coal loosened from the bottom of the face. Thehorizontal floor strip formed by the plates 10 has the additionaladvantage of opposing the tendency of the coal plough to cut into thefloor when this is'soft.

When the conveyor sections are advanced towards the face it =isimportantto keep the outer edges of the cutlimiting strips in contactwith the floor to avoid climbing of the plough. With this in mind it isof advantage to design the conveyor so that the weight of the conveyorand its contents assist in holding the outer edges of the cut-limitingstrips in contact with the floor. This may be achieved by designing theapparatus so that the outer edges of the strips extend below the levelof the nearer side wall of the conveyor.

It is possible for example to make a simple modification of theapparatus shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 in the manner shown in FIGURE 4. Inthis modified apparatus cutting pieces 21 of strip form are secured tothe bottom of the strips at their outer margins. Due to the presence ofthe cutting pieces 21 the nearer side wall of the conveyor is raised offthe floor and the weight of the conveyor is transmitted to the remoteside wall of the conveyor and the cutting pieces 21. When the conveyorsections are advanced the leading edges of the pieces 21 scrape thefloor clean of residual coal.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, the conveyor of the apparatus here shown isalso supported by its remote wall and the outer edges of thecut-limiting strips 10. However, in this case the strips 10 are ratherdifferently arranged in that they are inclined to the horizontal. Thestrips are formed by appropriately angled bottom portions of the metalplates forming the inclined guide walls 9 for the plough. The weight ofthe conveyor and of the coal loaded therein is largely transmitted tothe floor via the sharp front edges of the strips 10 so that these edgeswill under all conditions be in direct contact with the floor andresidual coal will be scraped away as the conveyor sections areadvanced. In this particular embodiment of the invention the guide wall9 is inclined at an angle of about 40 to the vertical.

The plough in FIGURE 5 is shown in cross-section to reveal the pivotbolt 18 of the tool holder and the stop 19 which limits its rockingmovement. In this embodiment the stop 19 is accommodated in a recess 22of the tool holder.

The manner of securing the guide wall 9 to the conveyor in the case ofthe apparatus shown in FIGURE 5 is different from that employed in theapparatus illustrated in the earlier figures. The guide wall is boltedto brackets 23 which are in turn bolted to the nearer side wall of theconveyor and the brackets 23 support tube sections 24 which form guidesfor the return (idle) reach 3' of the haulage chain.

In order to insure that the cut-limiting strips cannot be held away fromthe coal face by compressed coal dust and thus allow of variations inthe cutting depth the outer edges of the strips may be formed withspaced local projections which can easily penetrate a coal dust barrier.An example of this feature is illustrated in FIGURES 6 and 7. Theapparatus the subject of these figures is the same as that describedwith reference to FIGURE 5 save for the form of the outer edge portionsof the cut-limiting strips. These outer edge portions are formed withconvexly curved projections 25. When, after the coal plough has passed,the conveyor sections are advanced by the rams, the projections 25 forcetheir way through the dust on the floor until they make contact with thecoal face. Due to the convex curvature of the ends of the projectionsthe dust is displaced to either side. By way of example the projectionsmay have width and a length of 25 mm. and be arranged at intervals of 50cm. With conveyor sections 1.5 mm. in length, one thrust cylinder forevery four conveyor sections will normally suffice to insure contact ofthe strips with the coal face so that the maximum depth of cut is made.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention,structure in which the various objects hereinbefore set forth, togetherwith many practical advantages, are successfully achieved. As variouspossible embodiments may be made of the mechanical features of the aboveinvention, all without departing from the scope thereof, it is to beunderstood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative, and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. Mining apparatus comprising a face conveyor having a sloping sidewall and a plate member extending outwardly from the bottom of said sidewall, and a coalgetting machine slidably mounted on said sloping sidewall above said plate member, said plate member extending downwardly toa level below the lower edge of the inclined side wall, whereby theweight of the conveyor is transmitted to the floor through its remoteside Wall and the outer edge of said plate member, and said plate memberengaging the coal face and thereby serving to limit the cut of saidcoal-getting machine.

2. Mining apparatus according to claim 1, in which the outer end of theplate member is provided with a number of spaced projections.

3. Mining apparatus according to claim 2, in which the projections arerounded in a plane parallel to the bottom of the conveyor.

4. Mining apparatus according to claim 1, in which the plate member isan extension of the lower part of the sloping wall angulated withrespect to the horizontal at an angle smaller than the inclination ofthe sloping wall.

5. Mining apparatus according to claim 1, in which the sloping side wall(is an-gulated with respect to the horizontal between 40 and 50, and theplate member is an gulated with respect to the horizontal less than 20.

6. Mining apparatus according to claim 1, in which the sloping side wallis angulated with respect to the horizontal between 40 and 50, and theplate member is horizontal.

7. Mining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coal-gettingmachine comprises an inclined body portion adapted to raise coal fromsaid plate member, and an inclined tool holder adapted to raise coalfrom the seam floor.

8. Mining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plate memberextends outwardly from said side wall a distance which is at least halfthe maximum depth of out of said coal-getting machine.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,691,514 10/1954 Lobbe 299-34 3,137,484 6/ 1964 Fontein 29934 FOREIGN PATENTS1,226,189 7/1960 France.

599,195 3/ 1948 Great Britain. 8 35,062 5/ 1960 Great Britain. 903,6988/ 1962 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES German printed application, M 16,802, June 14, 1956.

ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner.

BENJAMIN HERSI-I, Examiner. CHARLES E OCONNELL, Assistant Examiner.

1. MINING APPARATUS COMPRISING A FACE CONVEYOR HAVING A SLOPING SIDEWALL AND A PLATE MEMBER EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID SIDEWALL, AND A COALGETTING MACHINE SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SLOPING SIDEWALL ABOVE SAID PLATE MEMBER, SAID PLATE MEMBER EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY TOA LEVEL BELOW THE LOWER EDGE OF THE INCLINED SIDE WALL, WHEREBY THEWEIGHT OF THE CONVEYOR IS TRANSMITTED TO THE FLOOR THROUGH ITS REMOTESIDE WALL AND THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID PLATE MEMBER, AND SAID PLATE MEMBERENGAGING THE COAL FACE AND THEREBY SERVING TO LIMIT THE OUT OF SAIDCOAL-GETTING MACHINE.